Flawless consulting book - Peter Block
Chapter 1 - A consultant by any other name
There are three kinds of skills that are needed for a consult
- Technical skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Ability to put ideas into words, to listen, to give support etc.
- Consulting skills
- Being competent in the execution of each of the five phases
The five phases
● Phase 1: Entry and contracting
○ The first meeting, exploring the problem, etc.
● Phase 2: Discovery and Dialogue
, ○ Important: who is going to be involved in defining the problem or situation,
what methods will be used, what kind of data should be collected, how long
will it take, etc.
● Phase 3: Analysis and the Decision to Act
○ Setting goals for the project and selecting the best action steps
● Phase 4: Engagement and implementation
○ Carrying out the planning of phase 3
● Phase 5: Extension, Recycle, or Termination
○ Learning from the project, extension of the cooperation
Chapter 2 - Techniques are not enough
There are 4 elements that are important for the consultant-client interaction
● Responsibility - for example, it is important that the client communicates everything to
the organization instead of the consultant
● Feelings - It is important that the client and consultant feel like working together
because if they don’t, people in the client’s organization will feel the same way
● Trust
● Your own needs
The consultant’s assumptions - Your own assumptions about organizations determine in
subtle ways your own consulting style and the skills you should be working on.
, - Problem-solving requires valid data
- Valid data - objective data about ideas, events, or situations that everyone
accepts as facts and personal data
- Effective decision making requires free and open choice
- People need to feel that something is important and they have some control
- Effective implementation requires internal commitment
- People need to see a link between what they are asked to do and what they
want to do
The consultant’s goals
● Goal 1: Establish a collaborative relationship
● Goal 2: solve problems so they stay solved
● Goal 3: ensure attention is given to both the technical/ business problem and the
relationships
Roles consultants choose - Ed Schein - In some organizations, one role will be more useful
than in others
1. Expert role
- Client-to-expert
- Manager plays an inactive role, decisions are made by the consultant,
consultant has freedom
- Problems that can occur:
- Consider the consultant’s ability to make an accurate assessment
- Consider the commitment of people to take the recommended actions
2. Pair-of- hands role
- Extra pair of hands, manager retains full control
- Consultant takes a passive role, manager makes the decisions and selects
the methods
- Problem that can occur:
- The managers assessment of the problem can be faulty, here for the
action plan doesn’t work and the consultant will be the scapegoat
3. Collaborative role
- Consultants don’t solve problems, they apply their special skills to help the
manager solve problems themselves
- Decisions are made bilateral
- Problem - working collaboratively takes some time
Chapter 1 - A consultant by any other name
There are three kinds of skills that are needed for a consult
- Technical skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Ability to put ideas into words, to listen, to give support etc.
- Consulting skills
- Being competent in the execution of each of the five phases
The five phases
● Phase 1: Entry and contracting
○ The first meeting, exploring the problem, etc.
● Phase 2: Discovery and Dialogue
, ○ Important: who is going to be involved in defining the problem or situation,
what methods will be used, what kind of data should be collected, how long
will it take, etc.
● Phase 3: Analysis and the Decision to Act
○ Setting goals for the project and selecting the best action steps
● Phase 4: Engagement and implementation
○ Carrying out the planning of phase 3
● Phase 5: Extension, Recycle, or Termination
○ Learning from the project, extension of the cooperation
Chapter 2 - Techniques are not enough
There are 4 elements that are important for the consultant-client interaction
● Responsibility - for example, it is important that the client communicates everything to
the organization instead of the consultant
● Feelings - It is important that the client and consultant feel like working together
because if they don’t, people in the client’s organization will feel the same way
● Trust
● Your own needs
The consultant’s assumptions - Your own assumptions about organizations determine in
subtle ways your own consulting style and the skills you should be working on.
, - Problem-solving requires valid data
- Valid data - objective data about ideas, events, or situations that everyone
accepts as facts and personal data
- Effective decision making requires free and open choice
- People need to feel that something is important and they have some control
- Effective implementation requires internal commitment
- People need to see a link between what they are asked to do and what they
want to do
The consultant’s goals
● Goal 1: Establish a collaborative relationship
● Goal 2: solve problems so they stay solved
● Goal 3: ensure attention is given to both the technical/ business problem and the
relationships
Roles consultants choose - Ed Schein - In some organizations, one role will be more useful
than in others
1. Expert role
- Client-to-expert
- Manager plays an inactive role, decisions are made by the consultant,
consultant has freedom
- Problems that can occur:
- Consider the consultant’s ability to make an accurate assessment
- Consider the commitment of people to take the recommended actions
2. Pair-of- hands role
- Extra pair of hands, manager retains full control
- Consultant takes a passive role, manager makes the decisions and selects
the methods
- Problem that can occur:
- The managers assessment of the problem can be faulty, here for the
action plan doesn’t work and the consultant will be the scapegoat
3. Collaborative role
- Consultants don’t solve problems, they apply their special skills to help the
manager solve problems themselves
- Decisions are made bilateral
- Problem - working collaboratively takes some time
